


Falling in Love at the All Day Cafe

by betheflame



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Kidfic, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Parent Natasha Romanov, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: Steve runs a bakery, Tony’s a single dad. Both of them are pining, and both of them need a kick in the pants to do anything about it.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 31
Kudos: 447
Collections: Stony Loves Steve 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BladeoftheNebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeoftheNebula/gifts).



> DARLING BLADE. I hope this makes all of your dreams come true.

_Scene: Stark Family Brownstone, 1:30pm on a February Sunday._

“Dad dad dad dad daaaad daaaaaaad,” Peter said as he bounced next to Tony’s desk chair.

“What, kiddo?” Tony turned and saw that Peter was holding his watch.

“It beeped. You said when it beeped we could go see Miss Tara and get cookies. It beeped, so can we go? Please?”

Tony bit back a smile. He thought that at six Peter was too young to get tested for ADHD, but man if he wasn’t showing the same signs Tony himself had. Need for timers, concrete goals, and people to honor those goals so that he could focus for short bursts of time. “I did say that, you are correct. But before we go see Miss Tara, what else needs to happen?”

He looked pointedly down at Peter’s bottom half, which was clad only in Mickey Mouse boxer shorts.

“I need to put on pants,” Peter said, with a tone of sadness.

“You need to put on pants, buddy,” Tony confirmed. “And shoes. And a sweatshirt. It’s about 40 degrees outside.”

Peter dramatically huffed his way into his bedroom and loudly complained about why did he possibly have to wear pants just to get a cookie because pants were stupid. Tony picked up his phone.

_WhatsApp: SibsChat_

_Tony: We have had zero days without complaints about pants_

_Darcy: Kid after his dad’s own heart_

_Tony: i did not hate pants this much_

_Darcy: Tony. The entire year you were 8, you refused to wear *anything* but a bathing suit because you were conducting experiments on how to turn into a merman._

_Tony: Valid scientific enquiry, sister._

_Darcy: you’re an idiot_

_Tony: I love you too_

_Darcy: if he’s wearing pants, then did he finally wear you down to go face the cute guy?_

_Tony: That’s not the only reason we’d leave the house on a Sunday_

_Darcy: You have enforced a strict no pants policy on Sundays since Sunset left. You didn’t start breaking that until you moved into the new place_

_Tony: Hey, Pete’s favorite teacher’s aid works there, and he loves seeing Miss Tara._

_Darcy: And you love seeing her uncle._

_Tony: Fine. I want to see if I can cut myself on his cheekbones, are you happy?_

_Darcy: Just make sure when you finally meet, he knows you wanked off to his singles routine from the 94 games so much I think you got carpal tunnel_

_Tony: I actually hate you_

_Darcy: I love you too_

“I AM READY,” Peter roared from the vicinity of the front door at that point, so Tony hit save on his modeling software and grabbed his jeans from the back of the chair where they’d been discarded the night before.

If they were the jeans his ass looked best in, that was neither here nor there.

They were simply the closest pair.

That was all.

Once he put himself together, he met his very eager son by the door. Peter was already wearing his Coffeeshop Backpack, as it was officially titled, which would contain the book he was reading, art supplies, and at least one stuffed animal to bring to the shop since as far as Peter was concerned, animals were better friends than people.

Tony hoped that his son would keep his tender heart towards animals, while also learning that all people weren’t like the kids at his old school. And he hoped he learned that soon.

“Hands washed?”

Peter nodded.

“Teeth brushed?”

“I did that when I got up, Dad,” Peter replied, as though that was a given.

It wasn’t.

“Okay, then, the Stark men are ready for our adoring public,” Tony said, and opened the front door to their brownstone. He grabbed a scarf to wrap around his neck for the short walk and made sure that Peter’s sweatshirt was zipped up. He told Peter to wait in the vestibule while he locked the inner door before he opened the outer door because if he didn’t remind Peter, the kid would be down the stairs like a rocket shot and forget a little thing called ‘traffic’.

They’d moved to Brooklyn Heights about six months ago because the school Peter had been at in Manhattan was stressing Tony out. It didn’t challenge Peter enough and there were a few teachers that had implied that Peter’s rabid curiosity was a burden instead of a gift, so Tony decided that the Starks would pursue education elsewhere. He found a school where the tuition made his eyes water, but his heart swell when he heard why.

“ _Mr. Stark,” Nicholas Fury, the headmaster of Shield Academy, tented his fingers together as he explained. “One of the reasons we don’t advertise tuition is that we base each student’s tuition on their parent’s tax returns. There are additional negotiations, sometimes, but basically, this is a sliding scale school. If we can avoid it, money should not be a barrier between students and education, but since the taxes in this city go to building a small armory for the police, I had to get creative with how I pay my staff._

_“Your income puts you at paying 100% of Peter’s tuition. If you do that, you will also cover 4 other students whose parents cannot pay the full cost. We go to great lengths to ensure that none of the students know who pays what and we ask the parents to behave accordingly. Is that something you’re amenable to?”_

_Tony signed the check so fast his fingers cramped, and soon he was shopping for houses as close to the school as he could get them._

One of the things about the particular block they lived on was that at the corner was, quite possibly, the world’s best bakery. It was Zagat rated and everything, so it wasn’t just Tony that felt that way. People flew in from all over the world to eat at All Day Cafe - Tony had bumped into Gwenyth Paltrow a few months ago and thought it was his best friend, Pepper, and that was awkward - and their pastries were no joke.

Run by Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Rogers, the cafe specialized in classic French pastries with American twists - like a pain au chocolat that also came encrusted in pistachios - and routinely sold out of their daily specials within two hours of opening. Peter, in particular, loved their peanut butter cookies that the baker swore was nothing special but Tony was wondering if they’d laced it with kiddie cocaine or something.

Tony, in particular, loved going to stare at the owner.

Tony was a few years younger than Steve and had been 14 when Steve won his first medal in Men’s Figure Skating at the Lillehammer Games. He’d fallen for the man’s incredible grace on the ice and his absolute inability to put up with the American press corp, who had wanted more information about Steve’s personal life than the teen had been willing to give. Steve showed up to two more Olympics, and everyone always took great glee in replaying the clip of him informing Bob Costas that he was “disinclined to provide them fodder for ratings” in a thick Brooklyn accent.

Tony had set it as his ringtone for his first cell phone.

“Pete,” Tony said in a cautioning tone when Peter began to dart across the street.

“Sorry, Dad,” Peter replied and planted his feet confidently on the curb. He held out his hand for Tony to take it and Tony bit back a grin. God, he loved his kid.

“Do you think that Miss Tara will have the peanut butter cookies today? Or the mint chocolate ones?” Tony asked as they crossed the - thankfully - empty street.

“Oh, what if she has both?” Peter replied with a tone of wonder.

“Then you still have to pick one,” Tony replied and felt Peter slightly deflate next to him.

They opened the door and heard the familiar chime that signaled to Steve and Tara and the rest of the staff that a guest was in the door. Tara had told Tony at one point that Steve had an eidetic memory and played a game with himself to track the profits for the day based on the bell rings.

He was sure she had said it to make him think less of Steve. Instead, he’d fallen completely in love.

They’d had six conversations over six months, but he’d fallen completely in love.

Tony Stark never did anything by half.

“Peter! How are you, buddy?” Tara never greeted Tony first, and he loved that. No matter how busy the cafe was, Tara made sure to greet Peter the minute she saw him. “How’s my favorite customer?”

“I am great, Miss Tara,” Peter pronounced. “But I’ll be better if you have my cookies.”

The cafe wasn’t too crowded - just before close on a Sunday was one of their quieter times - so Peter had room to run directly up to the display case to address his beloved teacher’s assistant.

Her eyes twinkled as she produced a sealed bag from behind the register. “We set aside a special one just for you earlier.”

Peter accepted the gift like it was treasure - which it basically was. Tony could see there was something attached to the cellophane bag, like a tag or label.

“What’s on the bag, Petey?”

“It’s a drawing,” Peter reported as he inspected the tag closely.

“We’re thinking of rebranding,” a deep voice said from the doorway to the kitchen. Steve leaned against the doorframe, clad in an apron and with remnants of baking strewn over both the apron and his hair. His smile was warm and directed at Peter.

But then he looked up and Tony’s favorite pair of blue eyes met his, and winked. Steven turned his attention directly back to Peter and Tony was desperate for something to do with his hands while his breathing regulated. “Oh?”

Steve nodded and looked back at Tony. “Since you’ve built a few businesses and Pete’s a cracker jack artist, I was wondering if you guys could give us some feedback?”

“We’d be honored,” Peter said, with a reverence reserved for few things. The statement was so adult that Tony had to bite back a laugh - he sounded just like his Aunt Darcy.

Steve grinned and leaned over the counter to give the boy a high five. “Thanks, buddy. Listen, you guys get a seat and I’ll come over with some more ideas?”

“Yay!” Peter said and scrambled to their favorite spot - an overstuffed couch with a broad coffee table right in front where Peter could draw and Tony could rest his laptop and they could while away the hours. Or, technically, the 110 minutes until the cafe closed for the day.

“The usual, Mr. Stark?” Tara asked.

“For the, what, nineteen millionth time, it’s Tony, Tara,” Tony smiled. “And yes, just add it all to my account.”

Within a few moments, Tony and Peter were settled with drinks and snacks and Tony made sure to position himself just so in order to see Steve the minute the other man emerged from the kitchen to maximize ogling time.

And spend time with Peter.

Obviously.

* * *

_Scene: All Day Cafe, 1:30pm on the same day._

“You gonna use your words today,” Bucky asked, as he finished unloading bags of flour into the storage room.

“I use plenty of words every day,” Steve replied. “In fact, I just used seven to reply to your inane comment.”

“Oh, we’re getting SAT words,” Sam replied from his place at the dishwasher. “He’s pissy, baby, watch out.”

“I’m not pissy,” Steve snapped. Okay, maybe I am a little.

“You nervous about what he’s gonna think?” Bucky peered at his long-time best friend.

Steve absentmindedly scratched the back of his head, knowing he was spreading flour and yeast directly into his hair and wondering for at least the eleventy billionth time whether spreading enough yeast on his skin, would him rise and grow just like bread? “A little, yeah,” Steve sighed. “I still say the success here is a fluke as much as it is my food, and I’m nervous that we can’t replicate it.”

“Then he’s the perfect person to ask,” Sam reasoned. “We know, what, seven things about the love of your life? One, he’s got the world’s literal most adorable child.”

“Seriously, even when that kid is having a meltdown, I want to adopt him,” Nat muttered from where she was icing cupcakes for a catering order.

“Two, you find him handsome as fuck,” Sam continued.

“There’s no accounting for taste,” Bucky quipped and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Three, he’s an angel investor in tech startups,” Sam ignored his husband and kept going. “Four, he’s taken at least three business from bankruptcy to profit within the first year he’s run them. Five, he’s also an engineer by hobby and has started to dabble in architecture because why not dabble in something that takes most mortals decades to learn.”

“Six,” Bucky interrupted, “he’s absolutely the richest dude who comes in here every single day, but we’re all proud of him if he remembered to tie his shoes. And seven, he is bisexual and fucking gone for you, dude.”

“We do not know the last one,” Steve protested.

“No, we do,” Tara commented from the doorway. “You’re just being obtuse, Uncle Steve.”

“My kid’s the genius around here,” Nat said, “so we listen to her.”

“And we also know that the P&Ls are strong for this location, Uncle Steve, and that market research says that we’d do really well over in Flushing, and that getting angel investors is the way to make that happen, so all you have to do is ask,” Tara said.

“I’ll tell you what,” Nat said. She finished piping the cupcake she was working on and straightened herself. She crossed the room to take Steve by the shoulders and meet him eye to eye. The twins were each 5’4” and shared the same build - which is why they were an excellent pairs team as children until Nat shattered her femur at 12 and Steve switched to men’s singles to give the Olympics a go.

And then Tara happened when they were 15, and Nat’s life remained off the ice.

“You can ask him one of two questions today,” she continued. “You can ask him about investing in the business, and his opinions on your sketches for the new logo, or you can ask him to dinner and tell him Tara will babysit Peter and that you’re free tonight.”

“That’s not fair,” Steve whined.

“And yet,” Nat smirked and kissed his cheek. “You have a choice. Now, Buck, you driving us to the Sanderson’s to deliver the cupcakes or am I getting an Uber? The first six boxes are ready to go, and the second six will be ready in about ten.”

“Your cupcakes do not travel by Uber,” Bucky said in horror. “I have the netting all set up in the Jeep. Sam, baby, you staying here?”

Sam nodded. “I think I have the nozzle almost fixed. Come back for me.”

“Always,” Bucky grinned and kissed his husband quickly before grabbing some of the finished boxes to take out to his car.

As he usually did when he was surrounded by his family, he felt both full and empty. He wanted what Sam and Bucky had so badly, but he also knew that he was the luckiest guy in the world to have his sister as one of his best friends, and his other two best friends chose to do life with him every single day. Not to mention a mother who was her kids’ greatest champion and who took a course in bookkeeping to help them run All Day when it opened.

He’d been coaching for a few years before realizing that skating just wasn’t his love anymore. When he shared his dream of a bakery with his family, Bucky had simply looked at his then-boyfriend and asked if, in his vast network of contacts, Sam knew where they could get some second hand equipment so Steve didn’t put his entire savings into the cafe at first.

That was ten years ago and now he couldn’t imagine a different life. Tara had spent her teen years behind the counter and their faithful customers had thrown her a high school graduation party for the ages. His minor celebrity status had meant the cafe attracted national attention and their catering business was never slow. He’d been hesitant, however, to grow past the team they already had. He was fiercely private and protective of his family and the idea of bringing other people into Team All Day felt awkward.

And then, six months before, he’d met Tony and Peter.

Tara had told them all about the adorable kid and his super hot dad on the first day of school, but Steve didn’t really pay attention until the two came into the cafe later that week. Peter, it turned out, became the only child that Steve loved since Tara, and Tony…

Well, he started to notice everything about Tony. He noticed the way the man fidgeted his fingers when he was nervous, like he was looking for a tool to twist or keys to type. He noticed that he flirted with Bucky, Sam, and Nat all equally, but that he never really flirted with Steve. He noticed that he tipped Tara in cash - so that she wouldn’t have to pay any taxes on it - and it was always above 20%. The Starks only rarely came in when Tara wasn’t on shift, but Tony tipped Nat the same way.

Steve had also noticed that Tony had an ass that made the peach emoji look modest, which did not help the fantasies he found himself indulging in with increasing frequency.

“So, what’s it gonna be, brother,” Nat asked quietly.

“Tara, can you tie the new sketched label to a cookie for Peter?” Steve replied, not looking at Nat. Both of the women in his life scowled at him and Tara called him a coward, but she complied.

It wasn’t long after that when Steve heard the bell sound and Peter greeted Tara. He heard the exchange about the cookie and wandered to the entry door between the kitchen and the counter.

“We’re thinking of rebranding,” Steve said and saw light spark in Tony’s eyes. He winked at the man and then turned his attention back to Peter as the boy inspected the label. _Keep it cool, Rogers. Keep it cool._

“Oh?”

Steve nodded and looked back at Tony. “Since you’ve built a few businesses and Pete’s a cracker jack artist, I was wondering if you guys could give us some feedback?”

“We’d be honored,” Peter said, with a tone of reverence that brought a smile to Steve’s face.

He leaned over the counter to give the boy a high five. “Thanks, buddy. Listen, you guys get a seat and I’ll come over with some more ideas?”

“Yay!” Peter said and scrambled to the Stark’s usual spot while Steve made a quick retreat to his office to get the folder of information he wanted to go over with Tony.

“You’re allowed to do both,” Nat said quietly, sneaking up behind him.

“Jesus hell, Nat. I’m a thirty-five year old with a heart condition, can we not scare the shit out of me?”

“You can ask him out and ask him to invest,” Nat replied, ignoring Steve’s dramatic outburst.

“That feels like a conflict of interest,” Steve said.

“Maybe,” Nat shrugged, “but since when have we believed in boundaries? I’m heading with Bucky to the Sanderson’s. Text if you need me.”

He rolled his eyes, but also nodded acknowledgement at the information and headed out to the table. He was completely prepared to launch into his whole spiel with the questions he had for Tony and then…

And then the sight of Tony talking to Peter’s stuffed animal of the week - which appeared to be Figment from Disney World - just destroyed Steve’s focus.

“Well, Figment,” he heard Tony say as he drew closer. “What do you think about Mr. Steve’s drawing?”

Tony put his ear to the animal’s snout and then shook his head. “Sorry, Petey, I don’t speak this dialect of dragon. You’ll have to translate for me.”

Peter giggled. “He says he loves it, Daddy. Are you gonna help Mr. Steve and Miss Tara and Miss Nat and Mr. Bucky and Mr. Sam?”

“Great job remembering everyone’s names, Petey,” Tony brightened and gave Peter a high five, “and remembering to be polite when you talk about them.”

“Really, we’re all happy with first names,” Steve interrupted at that moment. “We kinda think of you guys as part of the All Day family already.”

Something passed over Tony’s face that Steve couldn’t quite place, but made Steve want to cup Tony’s cheek tenderly. He balled his fists to stop himself from doing so, but the energy must have moved from his hands to his mouth because, without any real thought, he blurted out, “are you busy tonight?”

Tony blinked a few times. “No, Sundays are quiet for us. Why?”

“Do you want to get dinner?”

Tony looked at Peter, who was watching the two of them with wide eyes, and Steve followed his glance. Shit, I should not have done this in front of Peter, this is going to make things awkward.

“All three of us?” Tony replied.

“Actually,” Steve heard Tara behind him. She was delivering Tony’s latte and then looked at Peter, “if it’s okay with Peter, Mom and I were wondering if he wanted to hang out with us and he can help us draw some other labels for the cookies and cupcakes.”

Tony blinked rapidly and Steve could see the wheels in his head turning. He looked at Peter and asked, “do you want to do that, buddy? Hang out with Miss Tara and Miss Nat?”

“More than anything in the world,” Peter said with a hint of a tone, like his father just asked the world’s literal dumbest question.

“Then,” Tony looked back at Steve, “yes. I’d love to.”

Steve grinned. “Great, we all live upstairs - “

“Seriously? We’ve been neighbors this whole time?”

Steve nodded. “I live with Nat and Tara, it makes it easier to mind the cafe.”

“Well, that makes sense why it’s always one of you five working it,” Tony said.

“Oh, Uncle Steve has massive trust issues,” Tara supplied and Steve noticed she’d knelt down and started drawing with Peter. “He won’t let anyone who isn’t basically our family work here.”

“Thank you, goddaughter, for sharing that incredibly personal piece of information,” Steve snapped.

Tony chuckled. “Oh, if my sister was here, she’d tell you I have coordinating neuroses.”

“You have a sister?”

Tony grinned and Steve’s heart skipped a beat. “Looks like we have a lot to talk about tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Steve grinned back.

* * *

_Brooklyn Beat News Alert_

_Sad news that’s also happy, folks. Turns out the All Day Cafe is going to be closed for the first time in its history starting on Saturday the 12th for one week. Turns out, it’s hosting a wedding reception! And not just ANY wedding - our favorite neighborhood baker Steve Rogers is getting hitched to Tony Stark, resident genius inventor and angel investor. And no, don’t bother trying to sneak a peek - the windows are already getting blacked out. We’ll just have to see if any photos show up on the shop’s super popular Instagram. Anyway, congrats to the misters! Many happy returns!_


	2. Art from Tifftac!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely *incredible* art from [tifftac](https://tifftac.tumblr.com/) to accompany this story!


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